Drill ship, tows still battle Gulf of Alaska storm

In this photo provided by the United States Coast Guard, a Coast Guard helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak conducts the 13th hoist of 18 crewmen from the mobile drilling unit Kulluk on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012, 80 miles southwest of Kodiak City, Alaska. The tug Aiviq suffered problems towing the Kulluk Thursday prompting the Coast Guard to deploy cutters and aircraft to while Royal Dutch Shell dispatched additional tugs.(AP Photo/United States Coast Guard, Petty Officer 1st Class Sara Francis)

ANCHORAGE — The crews of towing vessels attached to a Shell drill ship faced a fierce storm Sunday in the Gulf of Alaska, responders said.

The crews of the Aiviq and the Nanuq were stationed with the Royal Dutch Shell PLC drill rig Kulluk about 20 miles from Alaska’s Kodiak Island, were joined by the tugboat Alert in very rough seas, the Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley was en route for a second time and expected to arrive late Sunday.

Petty Officer First Class David Mosley said winds Sunday ranged between 35 mph and 50 mph. Seas were as high as 22 feet.

The goal is to tow the Kulluk to a safe harbor. Responders said they were looking at several options.

The Aiviq was using only two of its four engines at a time, with two on standby. The Aiviq’s engines failed Friday, and one of them was restarted the same day. The others were back to running Saturday after parts were delivered by Coast Guard helicopter.

All 18 crew members on the Kulluk were safely evacuated Saturday from the drill ship, which has no propulsion system of its own and had been drifting toward the Trinity Islands.

Helicopter crews tried unsuccessfully Friday night and early Saturday to evacuate the crew, but succeeded in their third attempt, after winds had died down from a high of 60 mph.

Two workers on board the Aiviq sustained minor injuries, said Sean Churchfield, Shell’s Alaska operations manager. He didn’t have details, but said he understood the crew members were back at work.

Despite the severe conditions, no oil has been discharged and none of the vessels has been damaged, said Steven Russell with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

The drill ship was being towed from Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands to Seattle when problems arose Thursday. Responders said the rig lost its towline with the Aiviq, so the cutter Haley was sent there as a safety precaution. The Aiviq reported multiple engine failures after the cutter reached the stricken vessels early Friday.

Cutter crews tried to fix a tow line to the Aiviq to keep it from drifting, but that attempt failed when part of the towline got wrapped around one of the Haley’s propellers. The cutter left after the Coast Guard sent a C-130 aircraft.

The Kulluk is one of two drill ships Shell operated this year in the short Arctic Ocean open water season. A round ship with a 160-foot derrick, it was designed for extended drilling in Arctic waters, and has an ice-reinforced, funnel-shape hull 266 feet in diameter. The conical shape is designed to deflect moving ice downward and break it into small pieces.

The Aiviq is owned and operated by Edison Chouest Offshore of Galliano, La.

Churchfield said an investigation will be conducted into the cause of problems.

He lauded the involved responders dealing with extremely challenging conditions. He also praised the performance of Shell and its contractors.

“Flawless operations is always the goal. But being a responsible operator also means putting contingency plans in place,” Churchfield said. “Shell has done that throughout.”